Since the 21st century, automobile industry and tire industry have developed rapidly in China, which promotes the demand for rubber in return. In 2012, the output volume of automobiles reached 19.27 million units and that of radial tires totaled 460 million, ranking the first in the world. During 2001-2012, the CAGR of automobile output volume exceeded 20% and the CAGR of tire output volume reached 25%, both ranking top in the world. In 2012, the consumption volume of natural rubber in China accounted for over 1/3 of the global consumption volume with foreign dependence degree exceeding 80%. Since 2001, China has become the largest importer of natural rubber in the world. Natural rubber resource is insufficient in China, which provides market opportunities for developing synthetic rubber industry. In China, the synthetic rubber demand of its downstream industries is strong, so synthetic rubber industry develops at high speed.
Synthetic rubber refers to any artificial macromolecule materials that applied as elastomer. Synthetic rubber is a kind of synthetic polymer with high elasticity that mainly made from coal, petroleum and natural gas, so its price is closely related to prices of the three major raw materials. Synthetic rubber has various types with special functions to meet different demands. As a result, the global output volume of synthetic rubber has exceeded that of natural rubber.
In recent years, the production capacity of synthetic rubber develops rapidly in China. By the end of 2012, the production capacity of synthetic rubber exceeded 4 million tons and its output volume reached 3.787 million tons. Meanwhile, there were more than twenty synthetic rubber enterprises in China. Thanks to their fully furnished devices and abundant raw materials, Sinopec and CNPC became the two leading synthetic rubber enterprises in China with the total production capacity accounting for over half of the national production capacity.